It's hard to recount what i have done in this entire month, it has been so much, it's too much for my brain to remember. So I will start with my city, Cuenca, and continue later with some unique places.

Cuenca. The first thing I noticed about Cuenca after traveling for a week from Quito (which is in the North) down to Cuenca (Southern highlands, an approximately 11-hour bus ride), was that it was a rich. Yes, rich. Cuenca, compared to the rest of Ecuador that I have seen, has a lot of money. As soon as our tour bus of 30 American students from all different states and schools reached the outskirts of the city, the scenery began to change from small, falling-down wood shacks with cornfields to brick three-story houses guarded by iron fences. The shacks that we passed were either not guarded, or guarded by cows. Cuenca was completely not what I expected. I did not even know it was a big city, and it is the third-largest city in Ecuador.

The second thing I noticed, especially after meeting my family, was there are many white people here. My host mom, sister and cousin here have red hair and light skin. In my culture tour from Quito to Cuenca, we stopped in many pueblos of the indigenous community, and my group and I clearly stuck out. In Cuenca, we still stick out as "gringas" by our mannerisms, but there are times I have been mistaken for an Ecuadorian (very proud of that).

On that note, what is a gringa/gringo? A gringo is a white person, whether North American or European. A gringo typically dresses differently, a little more earthy and a little more artsy. Gringos are usually loud when walking down the street, can't dance salsa or merengue, and of course speak Spanish with a broken accent.

South America, and I think Central America and Spain too perhaps, are celebrating Carnival this coming weekend. So a tradition here in Cuenca before Carnival is throwing bombas de agua -- water bombs -- at people or, more specifically, at gringos. Los niños love to throw water balloons at me, and yell out "¡GRINGA!" Sometimes it's funny, but there are those days when it definitely is not. I have had my share of throwing water back at the little squirts.

Back to my first impressions of Cuenca. The third thing I noticed was the driving. Rhode Island drivers definitely would not survive here, and many Rhode Island pedestrians would struggle too, because cars do not stop for pedestrians. Cars and buses speed through small, car-and-a-half--wide cobblestone streets. They don't use blinkers, they honk at everything, and bus drivers even participate in water-balloon throwing.

My first morning walking to school included some of that adventure I was talking about. First, I was lost, did not know where to go, but wanted to act like I knew where I was going so I thought it was a good idea to try to cross the streets fast and just not look. Horrible idea, Ecuadorians do not do this, and don't even try it. I almost lost my life at every street, horns honking and almost car crashes because of my stupidity. I stuck out that morning, and I still looked lost.

There are no speed limits here either, and no police are on the streets to enforce any driving rules. Never trust a red light, they are only optional. Buses speed up for gringas, be careful.

My final surprise: Every morning I walk past the la carcel de Cuenca, or the Cuenca prison. The prison is nothing like the prison in Rhode Island. There are no gates surrounding the building, nor any high security -- only a yellow-brick building with no windows (that I know of) and one door that is barred. The street is blocked off for cars except for authorized vehicles. On the opposite side of the prison are little tiendas (shops). I haven't figured out who goes there besides policemen yet, but I think the stores do good business on visiting days -- Thursdays and Fridays. Other than that, not many people pass through besides me.

I get excited for visiting days because there is so much commotion. Snipers walk across the roof, indigenous women come and sell their fruit outside the prison and policemen are on alert walking around with their big guns. I haven't completely figured out the whole visiting process yet. There is a big line of family and friends waiting to see their loved ones. Sometimes women are exiting from the barred door, and sometimes it looks like the jailbird is outside with their loved one. One interesting point to note though is that visitors always, always, always have a scarf around their neck covering their face. At first I thought it was because they were crying, but I soon realized after catching a breeze that it's the smell of the people in jail.

Overall my ten to fifteen minute walk to school can be rather interesting, dodging cars and water balloons, and observing the action of the prison.

These were only my first impressions of Cuenca, Cuenca is actually a very beautiful city. Located in the Andes, the Southern highlands of the Andes, its about 8,000 feet above sea level, and the mountains surround the city on all sides. Weather is crazy, changing every hour from rain to extreme heat to thick fog, back to rain and sun. Always bring an umbrella, and a chompa (jacket, Cuenca-style)!

This weekend I am headed to the Galapagos Islands for seven days. Charles Darwin here I come! ¡Que les vaya bien! ¡Chau!